Thank You
by Roth
Summary: What do pool, a teenager, a bank, and Gary all have in common. There all in this story.


Title: Thank You

Author: HAPPYBUNNY13

Rating: PG

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Early Edition. (I wish I did though.)

Summary: What do pool, a teenager, a bank, and Gary all have in common. There all in this story.

Note: Just another EE story. Read and review.

**Thank You**

"You lose," said Hazel. "You owe me five dollars."

"Where did you learn to play pool?" asked Gary.

"My family bought a pool table off this guy who's bar was closing down," replied Hazel. "I've been playing since I was ten. Haven't been beaten since I was sixteen. You seem to be paying me rent though. Wanna play again?"

"No thanks," said Gary.

"Oh, well," said Hazel with a sigh. "I'll find someone else to play."

Gary shook his head and walked over to the bar. He took a seat and looked around at the customers. He saw that Hazel had found a new person to play and was trying to get them to bet.

"Did you ask her?" Marissa asked him as she walked over.

"Not yet," replied Gary.

"So you just lost six games of pool against her and you didn't even ask her?" said Marissa.

"Yep," replied Gary.

"No offense," said Marissa, "but that's kind of pathetic."

Gary looked at Marissa and then muttered, "I'm going to ask."

"Then go," said Marissa.

"Fine," said Gary. He got up from the bar and walked back over to the pool table. He was about to tap Hazel on the shoulder when she brought the pool cue back into his stomach. Gary gasped for air as Hazel turned to face him.

"I am so sorry," said Hazel. "I didn't know you were there. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Gary. He walked back over to the bar sat down.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Hazel.

"Yeah," said Gary. "I don't need to breath."

"What happened?" asked Marissa.

"I accidently hit him in the stomach with a pool cue," explained Hazel. "I didn't know he was there."

"I'm fine," Gary said again.

"I'm really sorry," said Hazel.

"It's okay," said Gary.

"I'm just gonna back to my game," said Hazel.

She was about to walk away when Gary said, "Wait up, Hazel. I've got a question for you."

"Yeah," she said as she turned back around.

"Um," said Gary, "would you like to um go grab something to eat sometime? Unless you're too busy, then-."

"If you're asking me out," said Hazel, "I'd love to."

"Great," said Gary. "How about sometime tomorrow?"

"Sure," said Hazel. "Now, I have to go finish that game because I have twenty-five dollars on it. See you tomorrow."

"'Kay," said Gary.

"Bye," said Hazel as she waved.

"I told you I would ask her," Gary said to Marissa. He unconsciously rubbed his stomach.

"About time," said Marissa.

Gary glared at Marissa and then said, "Sorry I took so long."

!&!&!&

Gary woke up the next morning and rolled out of bed. He walked over to the door and opened it. The cat looked up at him and Gary said, "Nothing in that paper can get me down today." The cat meowed at him and then walked into the apartment. Gary shook his head and picked up the paper. His eyes went wide with shock when he saw the headline. "'Failed Bank Heist Ends in Death.'"

"Oh, no," said Gary as he read the article. "'Tragedy struck yesterday at 8:30 a.m. when a robbery was attempted at the First Bank. When the robber pulled the gun on the teller, the guard fired his own gun. No one was sure who fired next, but in the end, nine more shots were fired leaving four dead, including the would be robber, and two injured."

Gary searched through the paper and found nothing else that required attention. He looked over at the cat and said, "I am gonna let this get me down. I just have to think of a way to stop it."

!&!&!&

The girl walked into the bank and up to the only teller on duty. "I'd like to empty my savings account," the girl said to the teller.

"You want to close it?" asked the teller giving the girl a funny look. She was about fifteen and had a black backpack with her.

"Yeah," said the girl with a nod.

"Alright," said the teller. She smiled at the girl, but the girl didn't smile back. "Name."

"Sicilia Irving," replied the girl.

!&!&!&

Gary walked into the bank and looked around. It was still pretty early and the bank wasn't very busy. There was only one teller on duty and four customers. He saw the guard the article had talked about was standing near the back.

Gary continued to watch, but nothing unusual happened. Another man walked into the bank and over to the guard. They started to talk and Gary turned his attention to the other customers.

!&!&!&

A new man walked into the bank and over to the teller. There was a girl still there, but he pushed her away.

"Hey!" shouted the girl.

"Shut up," said the man. He turned toward the teller and said coldly, "Give me the money." The teller's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. The man flashed the butt of a gun that was hidden by his jacket. The teller nodded and reached to open the drawer.

!&!&!&

Gary looked over and saw the commotion over at the counter. He saw the guard had seen to and was reaching for his gun just as the robber did the same. "You pushed the alarm!" the robber shouted at the teller as he aimed the gun.

"Drop it!" shouted the guard.

The robber turned toward him and stared. The guard was about to fire when Gary shouted, "Don't shoot!" Both the guard and the robber looked at Gary just as shot sounded. The guard and the robber looked shocked. Neither one of them had fired. Everyone looked toward the man who the guard had been talking to. He had a recently fired gun aimed at the ceiling.

"Nobody move," the man said in a calm, almost charming manner, "and nobody will get hurt." He pointed the gun at the guard. "Drop it." The guard let go of the gun and it fell to the floor. "Z," he said apparently talking to the other robber. "Pick it up."

The other robber stood and picked up the gun. He tucked it into his waistband and then looked at the man for another order.

"Do you have the key?" the man asked the guard. The guard nodded slowly. "Drop it on the floor." The guard took a key ring off his belt and dropped it on the floor. The other robber picked it up. He ran over to the door and locked it. "Is there like a break room or something here?"

"There's an employee's lounge in the back," replied the teller nervously.

"Alright," said the robber, "I want everyone to kindly follow, Miss." He paused. "What's your name?" he asked the teller.

"Meredith Clemmings," replied the teller quietly.

"Miss Clemmings to the employee's lounge," said the man. "Z, follow them."

"Can do, X," said Z. He aimed the gun at the customers, the guard, and Gary and they quietly followed the teller to the employee's lounge. "Get in there, sit down, and shut up," said Z. "I'll be back." He slammed the door shut and the hostages all took a seat.

This was the first time Gary got a good look at who all was in the bank. There was a teen-aged girl, sixteen at the most, dressed in baggy clothing and wearing a thin, back, sweatshirt. There was a young woman, early twenties was Gary's guess, who was at least, seven months pregnant. A man, in his late forties early fifties, dressed in an expensive looking business suit. The last person, other than the guard and the teller, was a man, about twenty, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

"What's going to happen?" asked the teenager. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"We're going to die," replied the man in his twenties.

The teenager gasped and her face went pale.

"Shut up," the guard said to the man.

"Well, we're going to," said the man.

"You need to think positive," said the teller.

"We'll die quickly," said the man.

"I told you to shut up," said the guard.

Gary looked over at the teenager and saw that she had fallen silent. She looked nervously around the room and her face was pale.

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine," the pregnant woman said to the teenager.

Gary carefully pulled out the paper and read the new article. "'Hostage Situation Ends in Death,'" was the new title of the article.

"How can you read a newspaper at a time like this?" Gary heard someone ask.

He looked up and saw everyone in the room staring at him. "Sorry," muttered Gary as he set the paper next to him.

The guard started to talk to the teller and the pregnant was nervously watching the door. The two men were arguing quietly with each other.

Gary looked over at the teenager. Her eyes were closed and she was mouthing something to herself. "Are you okay?" Gary asked her.

The girl opened her eyes and she looked like she was about to cry. "I'm scared," the girl said quietly.

"It's going to be okay," Gary said. He knew he was lying, but right now was not the place for the truth. "What's your name?"

"Sicilia," replied the teenager, "but most people call me Chris."

"How do you get Chris from Sicilia?" asked Gary.

"Sicilia Christine," replied the girl quietly. "I figure it's a better nickname than Seal."

"My name is Gary," said Gary. The girl didn't reply.

!&!&!&

It was at least an hour before anything happened. The hostages sat in the room nervously waiting for news. The lights in the room suddenly went off and there were shocked gasps from the captives.

"What happened?" asked the man in the business suit.

"I dunno," replied the guard.

Z burst into the room and pointed the gun at the teller. "Come with me," he said through clenched teeth. The teller nervously got to her feet and followed the robber out.

"What's he doing?" asked Chris nervously.

"Probably having her talk to the police negotiator," replied the guard. "Meredith hit the alarm."

"Are we going to make it out of here?" asked the pregnant woman.

"As long as we stay calm," said the guard, "everything should be okay."

A few minutes went by and Z came back with the teller. He pushed her into the room and then closed the door.

"What happened?" asked the man in the business suit.

"They want them to release two of us for the lights," replied the teller.

"And?" asked the younger man.

"They refused," answered the teller. "So the police asked for one person. They all looked at her expectantly. "They're considering it."

Z and X walked into the room and pointed the gun at the younger man. "Come with us," said X.

"Where am I going?" asked the man nervously.

"We're trading you for the lights," replied X calmly. "Now come on." The man stood up and followed X out of the room. Z stayed behind and stared at the people in there.

"Why are you doing this?" asked the pregnant woman.

"What's your name?" asked Z.

"M-M-Meg," replied the woman.

"Well, Meg," said Z, "because I can. Now shut up. You see X is against shooting you guys, but I'm not." Every hostage turned pale.

!&!&!&

"I should never have come here," Chris said quietly. She was sitting cross-leggedin one of the miss-matched chairs. The lights had been turned back on about thirty minutes before, but they hadn't heard anything new.

"What do you mean?" asked Gary. He looked over at the girl and saw that she was crying.

"I'm a complete screw-up," said Chris. "I can't even runaway without messing up completely."

"Why were you running away?" asked Gary.

"Cause I messed up my parents life one too many times," replied Chris. She wiped away one of the tears.

"How?" asked Gary.

"They had a dinner party last night," said Chris, "and they asked me to cook because I got this great grade in my Home Ec. class. I tried to tell them that great grade was because my partner did all the coking, but they wouldn't listen. The food tasted horrible and everybody was angry at my parents. They took the blame for it."

"Is that the only reason you're running away?" asked Gary.

"No," replied Chris. "It's because I can't do anything right in my life. I get terrible grades, I only have like two friends, and it's no shock if I'm in detention every week. I mean, if they hated me, I could live with it, but it's worse, it's the fact they're disappointed in me. Never mad, just disappointed. Disappointed that they're daughter isn't perfect like them." The girl stopped talking.

"Where were you gonna go?" Gary asked her after a few minutes.

"California," replied Chris. "I want to learn how to surf. Always wanted to learn."

"What were you gonna do?" Gary asked. The girl looked at him. "You can't live out there for free."

"I was gonna try and become a comedian," replied Chris. "I love to make people laugh. That's probably why I have detention every week."

Gary finally couldn't take it anymore and picked up the paper. He looked at the knew headline of the paper it had changed. "'Hostage Situation Ends: One Death.'" Gary quickly scanned the article. The only person who was supposed to die was Chris.

"Are you addicted to reading the paper?" he heard Chris ask him.

"What?" asked Gary looking up at her.

"Are you addicted to reading the paper?" the teenager asked again. "I'm sure there some help you can get for it."

"No," said Gary. He dropped the paper.

"Does anyone know how long it's been?" asked Meg.

"Only about an hour and a half," replied the guard.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked the man in the business suit.

"Just listen to them and do what they say," replied the teller. "We'll have a much better chance of making it out of here if we don't make them angry."

"Z's already angry," Chris threw in.

"Angrier," said the teller giving the teenager a dirty look.

!&!&!&

Two hours passed and the tension in the employee's lounge was thick. No one wanted to say anything for fear that it would set someone else off. They had all fallen into uneasy silence. It was warm in the room and for the first time Gary realized they must had turned off the cooling systems too.

Z opened the door of the room and stepped inside. "I just came to make sure everyone was still here." No one responded. "Why so sad?" he asked innocently. Still, no one said anything. He started to walk around the room stopping and staring at each and every person. He finally made it to Chris, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Chris," replied the teenager not even looking up.

"Why all the black, Chris?" he asked.

"Why the gun?" Chris fired back.

"Tools of the trade," replied Z. The smile had left his face..

"Same here," Chris said. She still didn't look.

"You're just looking to piss me, aren't you?" said Z angrily.

"You're just looking for someone to shoot," Chris looked up at him, "aren't you?"

Gary knew that was what had gotten her shot in the article. He watched the robber raise the gun, but before the man could pull the trigger, Gary grabbed his arm. The gun went off, but missed it's target by about a foot. It fired and hit the back of one of the chairs. The robber turned angrily toward Gary, and pulled the trigger. Gary felt white hot pain shoot through his shoulder. He heard Chris scream and then everything went black.

!&!&!&

X heard the first gunshot and ran toward the employee's lounge. He heard the second one as he threw open the door. "What the hell did you do?" he demanded of Z.

He looked at the man lying on the floor. The bullet wound in his shoulder was bleeding badly.

"I lost my temper," replied Z through clenched teeth. He still had the gun aimed at the man.

"Get out!" X shouted angrily. "You know how much damage you just did. This could ruin everything." Z lowered the gun and followed the older man out.

The man in the business suit knelt by Gary and said, "Does anybody have a bandana or something?" He was looking at Gary's shoulder.

It took a few seconds for the question to register in Chris's mind. She reached over for her bag and pulled out a bright yellow tank top and handed it to the man. He looked over at her and took the shirt. "Come here," he said to the girl. She slowly got out of her seat and walked over to him. The other hostages still seemed to be in a state of shock.

"I'm going to need your help," he set the shirt on top of the wound and said to her, "Can you hold that there? Put pressure on it. Try and get the bleeding to stop."

"Are you a doctor?" she asked.

"I'm a psychiatrist," replied the man, "but I have had a little bit of medical training. Hold that." Chris did as she was told and pressed down on the shirt. Gary winced in pain and opened his eyes.

"He-He's awake," said Chris.

"Alright," said the psychiatrist. "Keep holding that." He turned toward the teller and the guard. "Do you guys have some sort of first aid kit?" he asked.

The teller, seeming to come of the shock, replied, "I th-th-think so." She stood up and walked over to the cabinets on the other side of the room. She searched through a few of them and finally pulled out a first aid kit. She brought it back over to the psychiatrist. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Looking over at the now blood soaked shirt the teenager had. "You can go find some paper towels or something."

"Okay," said the teller.

"Do you think you can sit up?" the psychiatrist asked Gary.

"I think so," replied Gary. The psychiatrist helped Gary as he struggled into a sitting position.

The teller brought over a small hand towel and handed it to the doctor. "Thank you," he said with even looking up. "There is no exit wound," the doctor said to Gary. "I think the bullet might have broken your collar bone."

"Is that bad?" asked Gary.

"You're going to need surgery," replied the doctor.

"Yep," said Gary weakly. "That's bad."

The doctor took the shirt from Chris and handed her the towel. "It's starting to slow," said the doctor, "but still keep it there."

Gary was starting to feel tired. He closed his eyes and let the darkness engulf him.

!&!&!&

Hazel walked into McGinty's and looked around. Most of the people in there were eating lunch, but she was looking for Gary. She saw Marissa walk out of the office and Hazel walked over to her. "Is Gary around?" she asked her.

"No," replied Marissa.

"Oh," said Hazel. The disappointed wasn't hidden in her voice. "I was supposed to meet him for lunch."

"He ran off pretty quick this morning," said Marissa. "I could barely catch what he said. Something about First Bank, but I couldn't catch anything else.

"Oh," said Hazel. She looked around the bar and then sighed. "I guess I'll try and catch him later. I'll see you later."

"Bye," said Marissa.

Hazel walked out of the bar and back over to the her truck. She got in and headed back to her apartment.

!&!&!&

Gary opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "How did I end up on my back?" Gary asked himself. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder stopped him. He turned his head and looked around the room. Everybody was sitting in the miss-matched chairs around the room. Gary realized he was lying on the couch.

"I was worried," he heard somebody say. He looked over and saw Chris sitting by him. "You've been out for an hour," she said quietly.

He reached over and tried to feel his shoulder. It was still throbbing. "Don't touch that!" Chris said. He looked at her. "It finally stopped bleeding." She was rocking slightly in the chair. "We might be able to get you out of here soon. The robbers are considering letting someone go for the cooling systems."

"What?" asked Gary. He was freezing. "They're not on?"

Chris shook her head blankly. The room felt like it was eighty degrees.

"I guess it must my mind," muttered Gary.

Chris got up and tapped the doctor on the shoulder. "Yes?" he said as he turned around.

"He said he was cold," said Chris.

"That's not good," said the doctor. He and Chris had both gotten rid of the jackets they had been wearing early and the small room still seemed stuffy. He walked over to the couch and saw that Gary was staring blankly at the ceiling. "Gary?" the doctor said to him.

Gary looked up at him startled and said weakly, "Yeah?"

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired," replied Gary, "and kind of cold."

"I have a blanket," said Chris. "It's in my bag."

The doctor looked at her, but didn't ask why she had it. "Go get it," he said to her.

Chris nodded and picked up her backpack. She pulled out the blanket and handed it to the doctor. Gary felt the blanket on him, but he was starting to get tired again. He closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

!&!&!&

Hazel walked into her apartment and collapsed onto the couch. She had to go to work in two hours and she was wondering if Gary was going to get done with the paper before that. She picked up the remote control and started flipping through the television channels. Hazel saw a news caster in front of bank and turned up the volume of the TV.

"We're are now in the fifth hour of this hostage situation over here at first bank," the reporter said. "So far, only one person had been released. There are still six people inside. The police are doing there best to negotiate with the criminals, but they shows no signs of coming to an agreement."

Hazel didn't hear the rest of the report. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of McGinty's.

!&!&!&

Chris was still sitting next to him. "He saved my life," she kept thinking to herself. "I can't even get saved without screwing it up. What if he had died?" She tried to push the thought from her mind, but it was still there.

"Chris?" she heard someone say her name. She looked over and saw that Gary was awake again.

"Yeah?" she said.

"You're going to laugh when I ask you this," said Gary. __

_"I wouldn't laugh at anything right now," _Chris thought to herself. "What?"

"Would you hand me that paper over there?" asked Gary. Chris was confused, but got up and got it. "Thanks."

"Least I can do," said Chris. "You saved my life."

"No problem," muttered Gary. He fumbled with the paper and finally got a look at the front page. The headline was clear. "'Hostage Situation Resolved.'" The rest of the print was blurry. Gary finally gave up and dropped it to the floor.

He was just going to try and go back to sleep again, when he heard Chris say, "You gotta try and stay awake." He looked over at her. "Dr. Samuels said so."

"Who?" asked Gary. The name was new to him.

"The psychiatrist," said Chris. "That's his name."

Gary nodded, but Chris wasn't quite he understood.

"Chris, come here," said the doctor. Chris got back out of the chair and walked over to him.

"Yeah," she said.

"I need to talk to you about Gary," said Dr. Samuels.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Chris nervously.

The doctor sighed and replied quietly, "He desperately needs to be in a hospital. The fact that he has held out this long is amazing." She looked over at him and saw that Meg was talking to him trying to keep him awake.

"He has to make it," said Chris looking back toward the doctor. "He saved my life."

"Without medical attention soon," said Dr. Samuels, "he will not make it." Chris turned pale and looked over at Gary again.

!&!&!&

"Are you sure he said First Bank?" Hazel asked as they drove toward the bank.

"For the fifth time," replied Marissa. "I'm positive." Hazel pulled up to the roadblocks the police had set up and she got out of her truck. She went around and helped Marissa out of the truck and then walked over to one of the police officers.

"Can you help?" Hazel asked him. "I think our friend might be in there."

The police officer looked at her and said, "Look lady, I don't know who's in there."

"Can you please try and help us though?" asked Marissa. "His name is Gary Hobson."

"I don't know any of there names," said the officer.

"Did you say 'Gary'?" asked another person. They turned toward a young man in his twenties.

"Yes," replied Hazel. "Do you know anything about him?"

"I was in there," said the man. "There was a guy named Gary. About six foot, dark hair?"

"Yeah," said Hazel. "Is he okay?"

"He was fine when I got out," said the man, "but there were some gunshots. They said someone got hurt, but they won't say who."

"Th-th-thank you," said Hazel blankly. Marissa was silent.

!&!&!&

Z and X burst into the room and Z said, "Alright, we're letting one of you go for the AC." he pointed his gun at Chris. "You."

"Take Gary," she said simply. Gary opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Are you telling me what to do?" asked Z. His temper was starting to flare.

"He's hurt," said Chris. "He needs to go to the hospital. You have to let him go."

Z walked over to the girl, gun ready to fire. "You don't have the gun," said Z.

"Calm down, Z," said X. He couldn't afford having another person get hurt.

"Just a minute," said Z. He grabbed the front of Chris's shirt and pulled her to feet.

"Hey!" shouted the guard. He was about to stand up, but X leveled his gun at him.

"I think you need to learn some respect," said Z. Chris spit in his face. "You little brat!" He pointed the gun at her head. Gary tried to get up, but the pain in his shoulder stopped him. He closed his eyes, just as there was a gunshot. "God, no," thought Gary. He heard two more gunshots and then silence.

!&!&!&

"Calm down, Z," X said to the younger robber.

"Just a minute," replied Z. He grabbed the front of Chris's shirt and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey!" he heard the guard shot, but that didn't phase.

"I think you need to learn some respect," Z said to the girl. She spit in his face. "You little brat!" He aimed the gun at her head and was about to pull the trigger, when a gunshot sounded from behind him. Pain shot through his back and he let go of the teenager.

Z slowly turned around and looked at the older man who still had the gun trained on him. Z aimed his own gun and shot X, just as X did the same to him.

Chris slowly stood up from where she had fallen on the floor. Dr. Samuels ran over to X as the guard ran over to Z. They both felt for a pulse on there necks, but there wasn't one.

"He's dead," said Dr. Samuels.

_"He?" _Gary thought to himself.

"Same here," said the guard.

Gary slowly opened his eyes and looked over at the two dead robbers. He looked around nervously and saw Chris leaning against the wall.

There was a phone ringing in the distance. "That has to be the police," said the teller.

"Somebody go get it," said Dr. Samuels. The teller ran out of the room to answer the phone. "Are you alright, Chris?" the doctor asked the teenager. She nodded blankly. She still wasn't quite sure what had just happened.

Gary once again tried to get up, but the pain kept him down. The doctor walked over to him and took another look at his shoulder. "We're going to get you to a hospital," Gary heard the doctor say to him, "and you're going to be fine."

Gary nodded and tried to sit up again. A white-hot pain shot through his shoulder and for a moment, the world drifted in and out of focus. Finally, Gary gave up and surrendered to unconsciousness.

!&!&!&

Marissa and Hazel stood at the edge of the police perimeter. The only thing they knew about what had happened is what the one man had told them.

_"Gary would do anything to save somebody," _Marissa thought. _"He has to be the one injured." _

There was a gunshot from inside and two more quickly followed. People in the crowd gasped and the police quickly took action.

!&!&!&

"They're sending in paramedics to get Gary," said the teller as she rushed back into the employee's lounge.

Chris looked at the guy who had saved her life. She didn't know if she should wake him or not, but the fact she might get a chance to say thank helped her make up her mind. Chris tapped him on the shoulder, but his eyes didn't open.

"He's out cold," said Dr. Samuels.

"He's going to be alright though," said Chris, "isn't he?"

"Hopefully," replied the doctor.

Hopefully was not the word Chris had been wanting to here. The paramedics rushed into the room and the police ushered the other hostages out. Chris took one last glance at Gary. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.

!&!&!&

Hazel watched the people leaving the bank. She kept hoping to see Gary, but not one of the faces looked familiar.

"Please," Hazel muttered to herself. The last of the hostages exited, but Gary was no where to be found. "Oh, no."

"What?" asked Marissa nervously.

"I think Gary might have been the one shot," Hazel replied. Marissa didn't say anything back. Hazel fears were confirmed when a few minutes later, Gary was carried out of the bank on a stretcher. Hazel rushed over to the waiting ambulance and asked one of the paramedics. "What hospital are you taking him to?" The paramedic stared at her. "He's a friend of mine."

"Cook County," replied the paramedic.

"Thank you," said Hazel. She rushed back over to Marissa and relayed the information.

"Let's go," said Marissa. Hazel led the woman back to the truck and they both got in. Hazel turned the key, but the engine only sputtered.

"Please start," Hazel begged the engine. "Please. I can't afford a tow." The engine finally came to life and Hazel smiled for the first time that day. She and Marissa drove toward the hospital.

!&!&!&

Gary drifted in and out of sleep for awhile. He remembered being in an ambulance and then the next time he opened his eyes, he was at the hospital. He heard the people talking around him, but he wasn't quite able to distinguish what they were saying. The last thing he heard before he drifted out again, was the word 'surgery.'

!&!&!&

Marissa and Hazel walked into the hospital. Marissa asked the nurse at the admittance desk about Gary and she told them he had been taken to surgery.

"Thank you," said Marissa. She and Hazel sat down to wait for news about their friend.

!&!&!&

Chris walked up to the hospital entrance and stepped inside. It had taken forever to get away from her parents. They had been worried about her. They weren't disappointed, they weren't mad, they were worried. Chris was no longer going to run away, but she still had to thank him. She had to thank him for saving her life in more ways than one.

"Could you tell me if a Gary was taken here?" Chris asked the nurse.

"Does he have a last name?" asked the nurse.

"I don't know it," replied Chris. "He was shot."

"I can't help you," said the nurse.

"Thanks anyway," said Chris with a sigh.

She was about to leave when someone behind her said, "We know him." She turned around and looked at the person who had said it. It was an African American woman sitting in the waiting room. "How do you know him?" she asked quietly.

"He saved my life today," said Chris, "at the bank."

"He's in surgery," replied another woman. "Other than that we haven't heard anything."

"I just to thank him," said Chris.

"We don't know when he'll be out of surgery," said the second woman. "You're welcome to wait, but it might be a long time before we get any news."

"I don't have time to wait," said Chris. "I'll come back tomorrow, maybe. Thank you. Bye."

"Bye," said the women. Chris left the hospital and headed back home.

!&!&!&

"I have to go to work," Hazel muttered as she stood up. "Call my cell phone if you get any news."

"Alright," said Marissa.

Hazel ran a hand through her hair and grabbed her bag. She sighed and left the hospital.

!&!&!&

Gary opened his eyes, but then quickly closed them. The bright flourescent lights above him had hurt his eyes. "Good, you're awake," said a voice near him. He squinted his eyes open and saw a nurse standing by his bed.

"Where am I?" Gary asked hoarsely. He tried to clear his throat, but it was to dry.

"Recovery room," replied the nurse. "You just got out of surgery."

"Surgery?" Gary said. Parts of the day flashed through his mind, but it still didn't make much sense. He felt tired again, but struggled to stay awake. He still had questions. After a few minutes of fighting it, Gary fell asleep.

!&!&!&

Gary opened his eyes again, but didn't see the flourescent lights above him. "Where am I now?" he asked himself.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," he heard someone in the room say. He looked over and saw Hazel standing by the bed; Marissa was sitting in the chair.

"What happened?" asked Gary.

"That's what we'd like to know," said Marissa.

Gary closed his eyes and tried to think. He saw flashes of the day in his head, and finally came up with an explanation. "There was supposed to be a bank robbery," Gary said. "I went to the bank and stopped the guard from shooting." He stopped for a second trying to remember the day's events. "Second robber. Hostages." He tried to think of what happened next, but that part of the day was missing. "I got shot in the shoulder. Shoulder!" He finally remembered why he was in the hospital. He reached over and felt his injured shoulder. He felt a bandage and his arm was in a sling.

"The doctor said the bullet broke your collarbone," explained Hazel. "You're going to be okay. He said in about four weeks you'll be as good as new."

"Fours weeks?!" said Gary as he tried to sit up. A pain shot through his shoulder and he slowly laid back down.

"Yes," said Hazel. "Five if you keep doing that."

Gary groaned and closed his eyes. "When can I get out of here?" he asked finally.

"Don't know," replied Marissa. "The doctor didn't say."

Gary sighed and closed his eyes. His head was killing him. "Sorry," he said through a yawn.

"Sorry to who?" asked Hazel.

"You," replied Gary.

"Why?" asked Hazel. She didn't get a response. "Gary? Earth to Gary?" Gary still didn't respond. He had fallen asleep.

!&!&!&

Gary woke up through-out the night. He woke up, late at night or early in the morning he couldn't remember, feeling sick. He ended up throwing up.

When he woke up in the morning, Hazel and Marissa were still there.

"You guys don't have to stay here," said Gary through a yawn.

"We can't stay much longer," said Marissa. "I have to go open the bar."

"I have to go make sure Wadsworth didn't destroy my apartment," said Hazel. "We're going to be back later on today."

"Alright," said Gary.

Marissa stood up and left the room.

"What were you sorry about?" asked Hazel after Marissa had left.

"What?" asked Gary looking up at her.

"You said you were sorry yesterday," replied Hazel. "I just wanna know what you were sorry for."

"Missing lunch," said Gary with a smile.

"I kind understand why," said Hazel. "If I make it back in time, I'll have lunch with you here."

"Alright," said Gary.

"Bye," said Hazel as she left the room.

"Bye," said Gary.

!&!&!&

Chris walked down the hall toward the room the nurse had told her. She walked up to the room and saw the door was open.

"Hello?" she said.

Gary looked over at her. "Hi," said Gary. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to thank you," said the girl. "You saved my life." She walked into the room.

"No big deal," said Gary.

"Yes, it is," said Chris. "Not everybody would do that and I wanted to thank."

"You're welcome," said Gary.

"How are you feeling?" asked Chris.

"Sore," replied Gary, "but I'll live."

"That's good," said Chris. "Everybody made it out okay, with the exception of you."

Gary smiled. "The doctor said I'm going to be fine," he said.

"I'm not running away anymore," Chris said after the was a minute of silence.

"That's good," said Gary.

"I have to go," said Chris. "Bye."

"Bye," said Gary. The girl left and Gary smiled. Not a lot of people said thank you, but she did and it felt good.

**The End**

!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!

Done. Please read and review. Won't be writing as fast. School starts tomorrow.


End file.
